As such, taxing imports is a good way to help local economy.
I'm sorry to disagree with you.
How overtaxing things that will never be produced at Brazil, and that have NO local competition help the economy? Last time I checked, every single DAP out there comes from somewhere at Asia.
The government is just making it harder for brazilians to have access to technology...
And yes, I'm from Brazil. And it suck to be forced to pay double the price for every piece of IT equipment, sometimes MORE.
And if they enter the gaming video market, I can assure you that my next videboard will be an Intel one.
Intel drivers for Linux Just Work(TM). I installed Ubuntu 6.10 on my Acer notebook, with a i915g video adapter, and everything worked without any extra effort. And I'm even able to use Beryl/Compiz as my default window manager, without any stability issues.
Both nVidia and ATI should learn from Intel.
Re:Switching XP - Amiga
on
AmigaOS 4
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
See, the article author does have a point.
At the early 90's Amiga was an amazing platform, with even more amazing software. A desktop publishing software was crammed into 1.4MB, two 720KB floppies! And you had an almost perfect alternative to Word 6.0 on less than 720KB, and spell checking was only another floppy away from you.
I had an Amiga 600, with 4MB RAM and 40MB HD, and I never managed to use half of the space. Why software is so bloated nowdays? I understand that now we have multi GHz cpus, with loads of RAM... but yet, we waste too much resources using poorly optimized software. For an example: OpenOffice.
I understand that now software do a lot more, we have higher resolutions and color depths... But does it justifies the lack of performance, the bloat? I mean, OpenOffice will crawl on a machine with less than 256MB, and a average Amiga had no more than 4MB of RAM!
How much more efficient Google is by being able to use Linux, *BSD, *NIX and even Windows when it's needed? While Microsoft is bounded to it's own operating system.
Mind you that I'm not saying here that Windows can't be competitive, just that it isn't the right tool for every job, and Unix tend to outperform it at the server scenario.
I think Microsoft should drop IE today. They're just wasting resources... IE makes no money for them, and nowdays every site out there works on almost every browser. If Microsoft wants to dominate the internet, they should focus at the server side, where FOSS is a real menace to them.
Also, I think Microsoft is loosing money by being this giantic monolith. They should split the company into an OS company (Windows), an Enterprise Solution provider (SQL Server, Office,.NET), a Hardware company (XBox, Zune) and a Content provider (MSN).
How many opportunities has Microsoft lost in the name of their stablished monopoly? SQL Server for Linux, BSD and Solaris? MS Office for Linux desktops?.NET on Big Iron? There's lots of money to be made, but Microsoft can't do it, because it won't compete with itself (Windows).
Intricate details, decorations, and such will be much easier, and cheaper, to do using these robotic constructors.
It would be easy to get the finished plans, and add every bit of baroque extravagance to your house using a CAD program, and being able to preview it real-time. Everybody will have a chance to be a Gaudí.
I guess that by this point they don't have a SDK ready, and won't have one ready when Leopard ships either.
Development on a cellphone usually means that you have a sandboxed environment, like Java, or that you have a large, stable library like Symbian. J2ME wouldn't look right on this phone, and a immature SDK would lead to unstable, and poor performing, applications.
This leaves us with the widgets... These already run on a stable sandboxed environment: WebKit. So, probably these will be the only "hackable" software that we'll be able to load into the first batch of iPhones.
Also, I can see the iPhone features migrating to the iPod. I for one will wait for the non-phone, Hard-Disk based models that might eventually appear.
Why Apple didn't released a version without the phone?
I mean, maybe there's a bigger market for cellphones than for handhelds... but I still feel that Apple could released it as the high end version of iPod Video, and included a hard drive.
IMHO there's a good chance that this will happen eventually. I just don't understand why they went for the Phone first...
Also, I'm wondering what will become of Palm... up until now it have faced competition from PocketPC devices only, and while Windows Mobile has it's merits Palm had some advantage due it's simple interface. But now that Apple entered on the handheld marked again it will be much more difficult to keep their market share.
Remember that those things are hackable using Python, and it is a fairly easy language to learn, and way better than BASIC. My first contact with computers was using a Sinclair, a much more restricted and "dumbed" computer than the OLPC.
Older kids can open a terminal and start hacking these puppies right away! And what prevents a smart kid from wiping the pre-configured Fedora and install Debian or Gentoo?
Also remember that the first batch of laptops will go to the hands of children learning to read, around 6yrs... There will be plenty time for the developers adapt the interface to older kids.
It's not like you can't shoot yourself in the foot with python, its just harder to do so. You don't have to worry about pointers, it has a HUGE and stable library, and integrated unit testing.
Also, the GTK bindings are very mature. So if all you need is rewrite some UI code, Python probably is your safer bet.
AFAIK the industrial economy of the USA is heavily subsidized by the government, especially the heavy industry, like metallurgic plants.
With such subsidies, industries tend to invest less on their infra-structure, use less than optimal processes, be less productive and pollute more.
I think that the real problem here is that the USA don't want to pay the price that everybody else already payed to be able to compete on the global market. Take for example the metallurgic industry, here at Brazil we have the most competitive, and efficient, plants... yet the Brazilian steel has a hard time to enter into the USA market because of the subsidies.
If anything, investing on more modern equipment, that pollute less and is more efficient, would drive the USA industry forwards and probably increase the number of jobs. But its easier to rely on governments subsidies.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but AFAIK Windows Media Player can auto-download the correct codecs for a audio or video stream, and the download URL can be informed along with the media... IIRC this feature was being used to upload malware into Windows computers, by using the codec installer as a trojan horse.
AFAIK, Artificial RF sources can be identified because they use a very narrow band of the spectrum, in contrast to natural sources that are much more spread.
So, even if we can't decode the signal, we'll know that it might be from an artificial source.
I bought my current notebook, an Acer Travelmate 2420, with Windows XP pre-installed...
I really tried to find a notebook with Linux pre-instaled, or at least without Windows. And to my surprise, the cheaper ones are those shipping with Windows!
Mind you that I live at Brazil, and import taxes and such may distort the prices a little... But the shocking truth is, at least here, if you want a notebook without Windows, you have to pay MORE for it.
I had to learn to drive before being able to conduct (legally) a car. Why it would be different with a computer, a far more complex device?
There is this myth, this lie, that computers are simple things that everyone can use without any previous knowledge or training. Software makers, like Microsoft, loves this because they much of their marketing is about telling people that if they aren't productive now, is just a matter of upgrading to the next, bigger, better and easier version of whatever application they are using.
We don't need better software, we need better users!
I own a PIII Sony Vaio with 128MB RAM. Kubuntu Dapper run just fine, as long as you don't open anything like OpenOffice and Firefox. I use Konqueror and KOffice, and it has been a nice experience so far.
Slashdot Mirror
Blame AcrobatViewer, not PDF.
Evince is fast and snappy here on my old and busted PIII 700Mhz, with only 128MB RAM.
We don't have a trade deficit anymore...
Actually Brazil exports add U$2.3Billions more than the imports, as of December 2006.
I'm sorry to disagree with you.
How overtaxing things that will never be produced at Brazil, and that have NO local competition help the economy? Last time I checked, every single DAP out there comes from somewhere at Asia.
The government is just making it harder for brazilians to have access to technology...
And yes, I'm from Brazil. And it suck to be forced to pay double the price for every piece of IT equipment, sometimes MORE.
And if they enter the gaming video market, I can assure you that my next videboard will be an Intel one.
Intel drivers for Linux Just Work(TM). I installed Ubuntu 6.10 on my Acer notebook, with a i915g video adapter, and everything worked without any extra effort. And I'm even able to use Beryl/Compiz as my default window manager, without any stability issues.
Both nVidia and ATI should learn from Intel.
See, the article author does have a point.
At the early 90's Amiga was an amazing platform, with even more amazing software. A desktop publishing software was crammed into 1.4MB, two 720KB floppies! And you had an almost perfect alternative to Word 6.0 on less than 720KB, and spell checking was only another floppy away from you.
I had an Amiga 600, with 4MB RAM and 40MB HD, and I never managed to use half of the space. Why software is so bloated nowdays? I understand that now we have multi GHz cpus, with loads of RAM... but yet, we waste too much resources using poorly optimized software. For an example: OpenOffice.
I understand that now software do a lot more, we have higher resolutions and color depths... But does it justifies the lack of performance, the bloat? I mean, OpenOffice will crawl on a machine with less than 256MB, and a average Amiga had no more than 4MB of RAM!
One have to wonder...
How much more efficient Google is by being able to use Linux, *BSD, *NIX and even Windows when it's needed? While Microsoft is bounded to it's own operating system.
Mind you that I'm not saying here that Windows can't be competitive, just that it isn't the right tool for every job, and Unix tend to outperform it at the server scenario.
Actualy,
.NET), a Hardware company (XBox, Zune) and a Content provider (MSN).
.NET on Big Iron? There's lots of money to be made, but Microsoft can't do it, because it won't compete with itself (Windows).
I think Microsoft should drop IE today. They're just wasting resources... IE makes no money for them, and nowdays every site out there works on almost every browser. If Microsoft wants to dominate the internet, they should focus at the server side, where FOSS is a real menace to them.
Also, I think Microsoft is loosing money by being this giantic monolith. They should split the company into an OS company (Windows), an Enterprise Solution provider (SQL Server, Office,
How many opportunities has Microsoft lost in the name of their stablished monopoly? SQL Server for Linux, BSD and Solaris? MS Office for Linux desktops?
Agreed,
How hard it would be to provide an OGG Theora version of the video?
I think its quite the opposite,
Intricate details, decorations, and such will be much easier, and cheaper, to do using these robotic constructors.
It would be easy to get the finished plans, and add every bit of baroque extravagance to your house using a CAD program, and being able to preview it real-time. Everybody will have a chance to be a Gaudí.
I'm not saying that Apple don't have a SDK for the iPhone, but that MAYBE the SDK isn't polished enough to be released yet.
I guess that by this point they don't have a SDK ready, and won't have one ready when Leopard ships either.
Development on a cellphone usually means that you have a sandboxed environment, like Java, or that you have a large, stable library like Symbian. J2ME wouldn't look right on this phone, and a immature SDK would lead to unstable, and poor performing, applications.
This leaves us with the widgets... These already run on a stable sandboxed environment: WebKit. So, probably these will be the only "hackable" software that we'll be able to load into the first batch of iPhones.
Also, I can see the iPhone features migrating to the iPod. I for one will wait for the non-phone, Hard-Disk based models that might eventually appear.
Why Apple didn't released a version without the phone?
I mean, maybe there's a bigger market for cellphones than for handhelds... but I still feel that Apple could released it as the high end version of iPod Video, and included a hard drive.
IMHO there's a good chance that this will happen eventually. I just don't understand why they went for the Phone first...
Also, I'm wondering what will become of Palm... up until now it have faced competition from PocketPC devices only, and while Windows Mobile has it's merits Palm had some advantage due it's simple interface. But now that Apple entered on the handheld marked again it will be much more difficult to keep their market share.
What do you think?
Hey...
Remember that those things are hackable using Python, and it is a fairly easy language to learn, and way better than BASIC. My first contact with computers was using a Sinclair, a much more restricted and "dumbed" computer than the OLPC.
Older kids can open a terminal and start hacking these puppies right away! And what prevents a smart kid from wiping the pre-configured Fedora and install Debian or Gentoo?
Also remember that the first batch of laptops will go to the hands of children learning to read, around 6yrs... There will be plenty time for the developers adapt the interface to older kids.
I guess you would be able to cram OpenOffice into it somehow... but the current version uses Abiword.
That's where Python comes into.
It's not like you can't shoot yourself in the foot with python, its just harder to do so. You don't have to worry about pointers, it has a HUGE and stable library, and integrated unit testing.
Also, the GTK bindings are very mature. So if all you need is rewrite some UI code, Python probably is your safer bet.
AFAIK the industrial economy of the USA is heavily subsidized by the government, especially the heavy industry, like metallurgic plants.
With such subsidies, industries tend to invest less on their infra-structure, use less than optimal processes, be less productive and pollute more.
I think that the real problem here is that the USA don't want to pay the price that everybody else already payed to be able to compete on the global market. Take for example the metallurgic industry, here at Brazil we have the most competitive, and efficient, plants... yet the Brazilian steel has a hard time to enter into the USA market because of the subsidies.
If anything, investing on more modern equipment, that pollute less and is more efficient, would drive the USA industry forwards and probably increase the number of jobs. But its easier to rely on governments subsidies.
Just my $0.02
Correct me if I'm wrong, but AFAIK Windows Media Player can auto-download the correct codecs for a audio or video stream, and the download URL can be informed along with the media... IIRC this feature was being used to upload malware into Windows computers, by using the codec installer as a trojan horse.
AFAIK, Artificial RF sources can be identified because they use a very narrow band of the spectrum, in contrast to natural sources that are much more spread.
So, even if we can't decode the signal, we'll know that it might be from an artificial source.
I can see one of these on every airport table some years from now.
Not having to get under your desk to plug that damn AC/DC adapter. This might not be power over air... but it's a HUGE improvement indeed.
A question now comes to me: Does it uses the flashplugin from Adobe, or it uses an open-source implementation?
Google has an Office at São Paulo, Brasil. Probably they're suing this brazilian branch, not Google USA.
Actually, it doesn't appears to be blocked at all.
I live at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Use one of the major DSL providers around here, Velox, and I'm able to access YouTube without any problems.
I bought my current notebook, an Acer Travelmate 2420, with Windows XP pre-installed...
I really tried to find a notebook with Linux pre-instaled, or at least without Windows. And to my surprise, the cheaper ones are those shipping with Windows!
Mind you that I live at Brazil, and import taxes and such may distort the prices a little... But the shocking truth is, at least here, if you want a notebook without Windows, you have to pay MORE for it.
You're absolutely right.
I had to learn to drive before being able to conduct (legally) a car. Why it would be different with a computer, a far more complex device?
There is this myth, this lie, that computers are simple things that everyone can use without any previous knowledge or training. Software makers, like Microsoft, loves this because they much of their marketing is about telling people that if they aren't productive now, is just a matter of upgrading to the next, bigger, better and easier version of whatever application they are using.
We don't need better software, we need better users!
Indeed,
I own a PIII Sony Vaio with 128MB RAM. Kubuntu Dapper run just fine, as long as you don't open anything like OpenOffice and Firefox. I use Konqueror and KOffice, and it has been a nice experience so far.